


Looking At You

by SesshomaruFreak, Timewaster123456789



Series: Heirverse: Phase 0 (Chessboards) [7]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alcohol, Denial, Denial of Feelings, Drinking, First Love, Heirverse: Phase 0, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-12 20:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18018272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SesshomaruFreak/pseuds/SesshomaruFreak, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timewaster123456789/pseuds/Timewaster123456789
Summary: Aizen and Gin's thoughts on their first meeting.





	Looking At You

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I own nothing. Much thanks to TheDrunkenWerewolf for sharing her universe and to Transbyakuya (ByakuyaKuchiki on Ao3) for crossposting.
> 
> This would not exist without Time. Thank you for your immeasurable help.

Gin lounged on the couch sipping a glass of sake while Rangiku grilled him as usual. She leaned closer excitedly.

"So come on, what do you think?"

He shrugged, "S'nothing special." He tried to believe that. Aizen had dropped the chalk, right, he was human. When Gin looked back on it though he'd seemed so smooth. He'd brushed it off and now that he thought about it again the class seemed to be more laughing with him than at him. If it'd been Gin they would have been laughing at him, and he'd have wanted to sink into the ground and...

"Earth to Gin!" Ran yelled snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Eh?' he blinked, coming out of his melancholy thoughts. Ran tossed back her glass of sake.

"I said 'then why are you blushing'?" she asked with a Cheshire grin. Gin rose from the couch and turned away his heart pounding, getting more embarrassed and flustered. Ran really had a talent for getting under his skin.

"If ya' just goin' ta' tease me..."he said for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Detaiiiillllsss" Rangiku whined, "I waaaannt details!"

"Aren't any," he muttered. No, not when his teacher came out roses even when he fucked up and Gin on a good day was somewhere between mud and dogshit on the list of things to associate with. Now that he thought back, what he'd thought of as an endearing slip-up, that he thought had rendered the man approachable, only made the gap between them that much more obvious. The teacher was so far out of his league...

"You're pining!" Rangiku crowed, "Oh...Oh sorry," she said and slung an arm around his shoulders at his hurt expression.

He knew she meant no harm and with a little sniff said, "S'fine"

"No it's not, I just...I didn't know you actually, you know, cared. Thought it was just window shopping."

"Ya know I don' do tha'," he said with a shaky smile.

"Which is why I was so happy," she said smiling and swigging more sake from the bottle. Weird little Gin, he thought bitterly,always missing things, never quite fitting in even with his best friend.

He sighed, "I'm not interested and if I was, ya' know what he's like. M'not that desperate." He gave a wan smile.

Rangiku gave a breathy romantic sigh, "I dunno know I think it must be a lonely life."

Gin frowned and hugged her, "Yer projectin'. He definitely ain't lonely," a hint of bitterness entered his voice.

"Quite the opposite I'm going to settle down. I think this one's the one," she smiled.

"That's what ya' said 'bout the last...eight?"

"Four of the last ten," Rangiku laughed.

"Yeh that's 'xactly why ah'm not interested." he affirmed. Cherry chose that moment to awake from her nap and pounced onto his lap. He stroked her fur, losing himself in thought.

Rangiku shrugged, "I still think you're wrong."

Gin kept his hand tangled in Cherry's fur, "Course ya' ain't for the long term thing either."

"Sure I am. For the right person."

"Sure," Gin replied and he managed a slight smile at Ran's playful pout.

"I'm betting that you just don't think you can be the right person," Ran said. Gin's jaw dropped as she demonstrated her singular talent for seeing him as he really was, insecurities, warts and all. He had no idea what he'd do without her.

"Not for him," the words slipped out and he winced.

"Aww you know that's complete bullshit," Ran exclaimed pouncing him with a hug.

"Thanks," he replied grateful for the sentiment if not for the baseless flattery, or literal smothering.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen had been getting bored with Kisuke's idiocy and straightforwardness for a while now. He'd become complacent and Aizen easily bored to begin with lost all interest. On the brightside complacency would make it sting that much more when he showed up with a younger model.

 _You've been at this for a hundred years, aren't you bored?_ Kyouka asked tiredly.

 _Not even close,_ Aizen laughed.

 _Isn't playing the entirety of Soul Society enough?_ she tried again. He laughed her off and plotted how to cast Kisuke aside to greatest effect. He really was annoying and Aizen decided he'd go for public tears and begging.

 _Just don't get distracted from our goal,_ the Voice whispered.

_It's taking too long I need a distraction._

xxxxxx

Gin woke up the next morning glad it was finally the weekend. He stumbled down the stairs Walked past Rangiku, still asleep on the couch with the near empty sake bottle on the end table. He checked that she was breathing, made some tea and checked the clock eleven in the morning. Also known as too fucking early to be up on a weekend. He wasn't keen on letting his mind wander though and wasn't getting back to sleep so this was the only thing left to do. Warm tea slid down his throat as he drank the comforting, spicy brew.

He sat at the table and as he slowly woke up, his mind began wandering anyway. He was clearly getting ahead of himself but he respected Aizen and he just wanted to be noticed, to be worthy. As though he had anything to say that the older man didn't already know. Surely they had something in common, Aizen was smart, Gin loved to learn right?

He sighed even he could tell he was grasping at straws. The age difference—even if that didn't mean much in Seireitei- Aizen's sophistication, experience, confidence. And him a little ball of neuroses and —did it count as armor if it was nothing but chinks?— He sighed again feeling pathetic, young and worthless. Rangiku stirred with a moan.

"Aw shiiit," Rangiku moaned raising a hand to her head. Gin stirred from his spiral of self-loathing long enough to raise an eyebrow.

"When'd ya' fall 'sleep?" he asked.

"Four," she muttered. He shook his head and she glared at him.

The conversation from last night came back to him, how Ran was sure this guy was the one. Would he ever find the one? Was there even a 'one' out there for him?

"Helllloooo?" his friend called, getting his attention.

"Sorry it's just...do you think...could anyone ever love me?"

Ran gasped and rolled to face him her own pain forgotten "Of course Gin. I love you."

"You know what I mean," Gin replied, tears half of shame and half of gratitude filled his eyes and he looked away.

"You'll find the right person," she said.

"And you think that's Aizen?" he asked, his voice choked enough that it'd be embarrassing in front of anyone else.

"Sure why not?" she asked but her hesitation said more than her words.

"See you don't trust him either."

"Sure I think he'd be good for you," she said emphatically but he heard the hope and doubt in her voice, romanticism overpowering reason. He simply shook his head.

Gin looked out the window, contemplating his single life. Ran's voice was background noise, going on about the guy she was seeing... Shuuhei, she called him. He tuned her out for the most part as his thoughts turned to the fact that whenever he thought of the substitute teacher, his heart did funny things.

Rangiku hugged him again, holding him tight. "C'mon," she said, pulling him out of the chair. "Let's go do something fun."

He followed with a laugh, determined not to think about Aizen.


End file.
